Old Rexhame Beach is a 1,700-foot-long stretch of fragile dunes, sandy beach and sparkling sea.

Located at the southern end of the larger, public Rexhame Beach, it has been the subject of a years-old neighborhood squabble and Land Court case about who has the right to go there.

The state Attorney General is a party in the Land Court case over whether the public has the right to walk across private property to reach the beach.

Residents who claim ownership of Old Rexhame Beach and the attorney general, who is representing the public, said last month that they had reached a settlement in the Land Court case.

But as of this past week, no agreement had been signed. That means the case could end up going to trial, an attorney for the homeowners said.

A conference call scheduled for Monday will not take place, a Land Court clerk said Friday. The town has filed a motion to intervene in the case and assert its rights to the beach.

“For centuries, there has been confusion and a lack of clarity regarding the ownership of the piece of land in question,” Attorney General Martha Coakley said in a statement Thursday.

“At this point, our office has not achieved a settlement that will sufficiently protect the interest of the Commonwealth and the public, and we are therefore prepared to continue forward with the case.”

Residents of Rexhame Terrace, about 40 houses on five small streets east of Circuit Avenue, where the disputed section of beach is located, say the beach and the roads leading up to it are private. They sued the state and some neighbors in 1998 for private use of the beach.

The homeowners say they own shares in several trusts that pay property taxes on the dunes and beach. They said they are concerned about outsiders walking dogs through the fragile dunes and leaving litter on the sand.

They say their house lots and the beach were originally part of the Ames Farm, which Sarah Ames subdivided in 1875. The homeowners who own shares in the beach property reach it via narrow footpaths from their homes.

Members of the Marshfield Beach Rights Coalition, a group formed to fight for public access to the beach, and other residents of surrounding neighborhoods say the beach is public and that their families have been using it for decades.

They say the beach was declared public in an 1832 court case – Briggs Thomas vs. The Inhabitants of Marshfield.

It was Thomas’ great-grandson, Ray Thomas Ames, who later sold property that included deeds to beachfront land.

The newest lawsuit was filed by Rexhame Terrace homeowners against members of the the Marshfield Beach Rights Coalition two years after the homeowners hired private-duty police officers to keep out outsiders. Police cited 15 people for trespassing, but later dropped the charges.

Page 2 of 3 - Homeowners said they sued believing it would be the only way to settle the question of ownership and access.

Some members of the coalition said then that they were harassed by Rexhame Terrace residents when they were walking to the beach. Rexhame Terrace homeowners say they now have as many as 200 people gathering on the beach to protest the no-trespassing policy.

Homeowners say they haven’t been able to speak to or negotiate directly with beach-goers because of the pending court case.

“This has been going on for a long time; it’s been in dispute from the early 1800s (as to) who owns what and who doesn’t,” said Russ Turmail, who lives in the Rexhame Terrace area. “The Commonwealth has got a huge challenge to prove any public rights down here.”

Brian Rogal, an attorney for the Rexhame Terrace homeowners, said they have been paying taxes on the beach property for as long as anyone can remember.

“When an agreement is announced in court, it’s enforceable,” he said. “If there is no settlement, then I’ll be asking for a trial date.”

- There is a clear and uninterrupted chain of title dating back to the first grant in 1640.

- Claims by individuals who have acquired access rights by long use of the roads or beach are private claims and do not make the area public.

- Beach parcels are owned by five different trusts, the oldest of which was formed in 1955. Trust shareholders are residents of Rexhame Terrace and surrounding streets and pay property taxes on the land.

Marshfield Beach Rights Coalition’s position:

- Families have been using the beach and access roads for decades.

- Beach Rights Coalition President Marianne McCabe said the beach was set aside as a public area in 1645. An old American Indian road along the beach was formally laid out as a highway in 1692, she said.

- In 1829, Rexhame Beach resident Briggs Thomas tried to claim rights to the beach. The Plymouth Superior Court ruled that Thomas did not own any part of the beach, she said.

- In 1832, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the beach was public, she said.

Rexhame Timeline

June 1996: Town Counsel Robert Marzelli says the beach is owned by private trusts. He later changes his opinion.

July 1996: Homeowners in the area of the beach where public access is disputed hire police details. Police seek trespassing charges against beach-goers. They later drop the complaints.

Page 3 of 3 -
May 1998: The homeowners file a lawsuit in Land Court against the Marshfield Beach Rights Coalition.

June 1998: Land Court Judge Leon Lombardi dismisses the lawsuit. He later rejects a motion to reconsider.

July 1998: Homeowners sue under different chapters of state law. The Attorney General’s Office intervenes on behalf of the coalition.

December 2006: The Marshfield Beach Rights Coalition, which believes there should be public access to the beach, wins a $3,000 state grant to research beach rights. It later wins another grant.

July 2008: Lawyers for the attorney general and homeowners say they have agreed to a settlement.

August 2008: The Attorney General’s Office says it has not achieved a settlement that will protect the interest of the public.